Time to redo the tank

[KeepingTheBeat]

Some of you may remember me from about 9 months ago. I decided (foolishly as it turned out) to go high tech planted for the first time in a 135 gal.tank. I never added the co2 so I have had alot of problems and not much time to figure out what to do about it. I decided the other day to use my upcoming vacation to do this tank over right. Now my problem is this, my fish are happy with things the way they are, except for one SAE who oddly enough commited suicide last week by leaping out of the tank. I would post a pic (of the tank not the deceased) but I might die of embarrassment. How can I do this with minimal disruption to them? My current thought is to drain water from the tank into some large tubs that I use to soak driftwood and use the aquaball for some filtration and aeration. I figure it will take several hours to redo the tank and they should be alright that long. Right? Next concern, I'm concerned that being a newbie to co2 I'm going to mess up and kill my fish. Is this a valid concern? Also, do you think the loaches will disrupt the new plants too much before they get settled?


Some info:

Lighting - Current USA Orbit PowerCompact Light (I don't use the actinic, just the 2x 96 watt dual daylight)

Filtration - Eheim 2028, Eheim Aquaball 2212, Eheim Liberty Filter 200

Substrate - half Flourite, half Profile

Current tank inhabitants- 6 clown loaches (2.5-3.5 in.), 3 horseface loaches, 4 bala sharks (3 in.), 1 very fat red-tailed black shark, 1 gold gourami (king of the tank), 20+ red lined rasboros, 5 rubber lipped plecos (a desperate attempt to keep algae in check), 1 striped raphael (I think, I rarely ever see this guy, usually then only when I'm convinced he's dead), 3 otos, 5 cherry barbs, 2 austrailian rainbow fish, and 1 SAE.

Plants (what's left anyways) - java moss, bolbitis, crypt wendtii, 2x unknown swords (rubin and ozelot I believe)

 

[TheMainer]

What kind of CO2 system are you adding? Is that the only thing you are changing about the tank? If that is the case, you shouldn't have to take the water and fish out.

However, if you are going to be taking most of the water out, it should be alright. You wont lose any beneficial bacteria if you are just playing around for a couple hours and a mini cycle is unlikely. As for the CO2, do parameter checks a couple times a day for a week or so to make sure that your pH is doing alright. You want to minimize the amount that it changes and ensure it doesn't crash on you. Of course, you should always check your parameters once in a while to make sure all is well.

 

[Lotus]

SAEs are definitely jumpers. I've had a couple commit suicide, too.

If you do need to break the tank down, a couple of large containers work well for putting the fish in. I don't usually bother with a filter, but it will help keep the bacteria on the filter alive. It definitely is a job that will take several hours.

Your loaches may dig up newly planted plants, I would advise weighting down any you think might float up easily. Swords and crypts aren't usually a problem.

If you want a successful tank, it's a good idea to add lots of fast growing stem plants at the beginning to soak up excess nutrients and keep the algae away.